heard you two are looking for sparkles,” the man on the left said. He wore the plain gray coverall of a factory worker. Tools hung from his belt. Any one of them could be used as a weapon. His companion also wore coveralls, although the larger man’s were covered with dark stains. Blood or grease, it was hard to discern in the lantern light.
I waited for Pazia to speak. When the silence lengthened to uncomfortable, I said, “We’re looking for real sparkles. If you don’t have anything good, we’re not interested in doing business.”
The man nodded. “Thought so. Watched you go to all those others. You’re looking for magical sparkles. Question is, can you afford it?”
“My family owns the Vasko mine,” Pazia said.
I tried not to show my surprise. After all, I was supposed to be her friend. But the Vasko mine was famous for the quantity and quality of rubies, making the owners the richest people in Sitia. And she just took one hell of a risk, telling two strangers about her family connections.
“Care to see our wares then?” he asked, grinning.
Remembering our run-in with Bloody Lip, I asked, “Where?”
“Right here.” He glanced at the big man. “Egg?”
Egg removed a pouch from his pocket and handed it to his friend, who opened it and poured diamonds into his palm. The four diamonds caught the light and held it. About the size of a teaspoon, they were the largest stones we’d seen all day.
“May I?” I asked.
He nodded. I picked up one of the diamonds and almost dropped it. The stone flashed cold, stinging my mind with a vision of an icy plain. Cold burned through my fingers then settled into a steady vibration. I had the same reaction with the other three, and I hurried to return them to him.
The salesman had been watching me. There was frank interest in his light brown eyes.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“They’re adequate, but we’re going to need bigger stones. The larger the better.”
“Big?” he asked with an incredulous tone.
“If you can’t supply them, perhaps we could negotiate with your supplier?” When he just stared at me, I added, “We’ll pay you a finder’s fee, of course.”
“But, you’re students …”
“Come on, Pazia, he’s wasting our time.” I pulled on her arm, but the man hurried to block our path.
“Pazia Cloud Mist?” he asked as if afraid of the answer.
She gave him a cold stare. “I told you my family owned the Vasko mine.”
Color leaked from the man’s face.
She studied him with an intense alertness. Kidnapping and ransoming Pazia would bring in more money than selling a few diamonds, provided they could capture her. Curare would work, but it was near impossible to find.
“Can you help us or not? I have a riding lesson.” I gestured with impatience.
“I’ll hook you up, but we get twenty percent of the purchase price as our fee.”
“Ten percent,” I countered.
“Eighteen.”
“Twelve.”
“Sixteen, or it’s not even worth our time.”
“Fifteen.”
He sighed. “Agreed. Let’s go then.” He started walking down the street. Away from the Keep.
“Go where?” I asked.
“To our supplier.”
We followed him back the way we had come. I wondered if one of the black market dealers had tried to sell us fakes first and we didn’t give them enough time to bring out the real stones. I kept alert for any signs of Bloody Lip and Bex.
We approached the alley where the black market dealers had their showrooms, but instead of leading us to one of them, the man knocked on the back door of another building.
The building’s front was on Jewelers’ Circle.
A person opened the door and the man explained our reason for being there. We were taken to a small room. Lanterns on a single table blazed. Black velvet covered the top.
A woman entered. I caught a glimpse of the room beyond her before she shut the door, confirming my suspicions we were in one of the legitimate jewelry stores.
The woman’s hair had been pulled into a complex knot behind her head. She scowled at the two salesmen. “Why did you bring them here?” she demanded.
“They wanted to purchase big stones. But we still get our fifteen percent.”
“If they can pay,” she said, giving us a pointed stare.
“I don’t think the daughter of Vasko Cloud Mist will have any trouble with payment.” The man grinned with a greedy glint in his eyes. “We’ll leave you girls to work out the details.” He left with Egg right behind him.
The woman perked up at hearing Pazia’s name, but she eyed my clothing, clearly not impressed with my display of wealth. “Let me guess. You’re two seniors from the Keep and you want to buy a few diamonds to help increase your magic.” She sighed. “I’ll sell you all you want, but let me warn you. The extra boost of power won’t help you to be assigned a cushy job when you graduate from the Keep.”
I waited for Pazia to start, but again felt compelled to fill the lengthening silence. “We’re not interested in landing good assignments. We’re interested in obtaining diamonds of a specific size and quality.”
“Why?”
“Does it matter?”
She considered. “No. Tell me what you want and I’ll find it for you.”
“No. I have to see what is available. I can’t quantify our needs with numbers, but with feelings.” I waited for the inevitable disbelief.
But her posture softened and she grew wistful. “I understand. I’ve been a jeweler all my life and there are certain gems that just … speak to me.”
Unable to stifle my curiosity, I asked, “Why are you selling black market diamonds then?”
“The Commander of Ixia gives us so few stones I can’t meet the demands of my customers. When I was offered a chance to bring in more, I jumped. If not, I would have lost business.”
“Do the other jewelers sell them, too?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I suspect they do.”
“Does the Helper’s Guild know?”
“We’ve been doing
